Hurricane Isaac Blows Through

The following article was written by Sandy Wilkins and reported on CNN iReport:

“The Haiti Health Ministries medical clinic suffered tremendous loss at the time of the 2010 earthquake and was forced to begin rebuilding in a new site. Last night they once again felt the lash of nature’s fury when Isaac unleashed its 60 mph winds. The winds began around 10 PM and went non stop till 4 AM. The rains have followed.

At 10:30 the security guard called to say that the administration tent’s walls were flapping wildly. Jim and Sandy Wilkins, the medical director and administrator left their small house to see if more things needed removed. They took out all paperwork/products, the printer and autoclave, reinforced some plastic covers with packing tape and went back to bed – not to sleep but to pray. It sounded as though the steel roof would fly off their 12-24 concrete house at any moment. There was tremendous concern for the clinic tents and employees in plywood houses up on blocks as well as those still in tarps. The night was spent in prayer. At 4 AM the guard called again to report that a woman in labor was at the gate and the roads to Leogane were blocked. Jim, Sandy and their OB nurse Jenn and her husband Jean arrived. The exam tent was still standing though most of the fans, small tables, and loose furnishings had been tipped over or fallen. The woman, Adrine, was in the final stages of labor and the baby was born at 7 AM weighing in at 7 lbs. The staff voted to name him Isaac which was quickly vetoed by his grandma.

Haiti is not an easy place to live or work. There was no Home Depot open on Saturday for them to find building supplies had the road to Port au Prince been open. The rebuilding process takes much longer due to so many obstacles. The best thing they have going is their persevering staff (American and Haitian alike) and their willingness to work hard. Clean up began today and will continue through the weekend and they will open up Monday as usual. After the earthquake they worked for 24 hours sewing wounds, delivering babies, and setting fractures. Then they opened in a school since the earthquake destroyed the clinic 1 week later.

HHM, a very small non-profit, is no stranger to loss and hardship but this will add one more hurdle for them in their quest to provide their 46,000 clients adequate healthcare starting Monday morning.”